UAE shares hit two-month high as hopes grow for Iran-US deal

Stock markets in the United Arab Emirates surged on Friday, lifted by banking and real estate shares, as hopes grew in the region that a ceasefire deal in the Middle East could be imminent.

A memorandum between the U.S. and Iran to halt the war could be signed as soon as Sunday, a Western source told Reuters on Friday, with Geneva emerging as the most likely venue.

Dubai’s main index recorded its best performance in over two months, rising 3.8% in broad-based gains.

Blue-chip developer Emaar Properties climbed 8.3%, while top lender Emirates NBD Bank closed with an 8% rise.

Emaarannounced plans on Thursday for a nearly $55 billion urban district in Dubai, betting that the emirate’s property market can absorb the shock of regional conflict and sustain the foreign demand that powered record transactions in 2025.

UAE equities rallied strongly in response, with investors repositioning towards a normalisation scenario after weeks of repeated cycles of escalation and de-escalation that fuelled volatility, said Hani Abuagla, senior market analyst at XTB MENA.

“The energy sector could also see an improved outlook as the reopening of the Strait of Hormuz would restore export flows and normalise operating conditions”, he added.

Abu Dhabi’s benchmark index advanced 2.7%, buoyed by a 6.9% increase in the UAE’s biggest lender First Abu Dhabi Bank and a 7.5% hike in real estate giant Aldar Properties.

Abu Dhabi Ports Company surged 8% after its subsidiary Black Caspian sweetened a Mandatory Tender Offer (MTO) to acquire a majority stake in Egypt-listed Alexandria Container and Cargo Handling, raising the offer price to EGP 27.47 per share ($0.5290).

Oil prices - a key catalyst for the Gulf’s financial market - slipped 3.4% to $87.29 a barrel by 1144 GMT.

On a weekly basis, Dubai’s index advanced 3.2% and Abu Dhabi’s added 2%, according to data compiled by LSEG.